


Baisemain

by noblydonedonnanoble



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-16
Updated: 2014-03-16
Packaged: 2018-01-15 21:33:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1319950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noblydonedonnanoble/pseuds/noblydonedonnanoble
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Almost as soon as they arrived at the party, the Doctor ran off. "</p><p>(Written for the prompt: "Baisemain - A kiss on the hand")</p>
            </blockquote>





	Baisemain

                Almost as soon as they arrived at the party, the Doctor ran off. He went in search of their host—some bloke from a planet she can't pronounce, who helped the Doctor out of a bind a century or two before. He assured her, "I'll just be a minute. Help yourself to some food, make the rounds..." And as he drifted away, shouted, "Oh, don't drink the purple stuff unless—" His voice faded into the general buzz of the party before she could hear precisely what he was cautioning her against.

                Nearly twenty minutes later, Donna is still alone. Most of the attendees communicate not by speaking, but by some bizarre system of hand signals that she can't begin to comprehend. 

                It's just like the Doctor to leave her by herself. Donna was so eager to come, too, when he told her about the invitation. She was able to pull out this gorgeous midnight blue dress that she bought at a bazaar in the Pegasus Galaxy, perfect for dancing. 

                Not that she's doing any dancing, what with the Doctor going MIA immediately upon arrival. 

                She's contemplating what the potential consequences might be for drinking the bizarre purple liquid when she feels a hand at the small of her back, making her jump. 

                "There you are," the Doctor says, as though she's the one that wandered off to God knows where. "I've been looking for you." His eyes land on the glass of the purple beverage in her hand. "I told you not to drink that!"

                "Did you?" she asks innocently. And, craving an opportunity to exasperate him, she says, "I hope it's nothing too bad; this is my fourth glass."

                He goes bug-eyed and snatches it away from her immediately, dumping it back into the bowl. "It gives 98% of people a buzz, relaxes them a bit—"

                "Well that's not too bad," Donna says. Maybe she should drink some, get her mind off the fact that the Doctor evidently couldn't care less about her.

                "—and puts the other 2% into a coma. Doctors hate it; it's going to be banned galaxy-wide within the next ten years."

                Never mind that, then. "Oh. Well, I'll probably be alright."

                The Doctor looks at her skeptically. "If you say so." His eyes land on someone behind her, and he lights up. "Oh, come with me! I'd like you to meet someone." 

                "Alright." She follows in his wake, trying to ignore the irritation she still feels. 

                And then he stops her in front of a bloke—well he's actually not that bad-looking, is he? And the bloke grins and says, "Ah, Doctor, hello! It's been a while, hasn't it?" He actually  _talks_ , too. Donna never thought that simply speaking would be such a commodity.

                "It has, yeah!" The Doctor nods, and then gestures to Donna gleefully. "This is my... ahm, friend, Donna Noble. Donna, this is Caesar. Not your Caesar, of course, about fifty millennia too late for that."

                "Donna? What a lovely name. It's marvelous to meet you," Caesar gushes, taking her hand and bending down to kiss it lightly. Donna unintentionally giggles, and at the sound, immediately turns red with embarrassment.

                From the corner of her eye, she can see the Doctor staring at her, but she avoids his gaze. "Right back at you," she says lightly. 

                "Doctor, do tell me where you found her. I—"

                "I wish I could, but actually we... we really must be off. I promised... Donna still hasn't met... we'll talk later," he says at last, resting his hand once again on Donna's back and steering her away.

She frowns and pulls out of his grasp almost immediately, glancing back at Caesar—he’s already in conversation with someone else. "What the hell was that about?"

                "Nothing like I remembered him," the Doctor mumbles, glancing back as well. "Bit of a tosser, actually."

                "I thought he was charming."

                "Don't be ridiculous. Do you want to dance?”

                Before she can say anything, he grabs at her hand to pull her onto the dance floor, but she resists, staring at him angrily. “I could say the same about you, leaving me alone at a party of aliens for nearly a full half-hour. And just because a bloke kisses my bloody hand, that doesn’t give you the right to pull me away from a conversation.”

                The Doctor frowns. “That had nothing to do with it.”

                Donna lets out a huff. “I swear, you’re making me want to take my chances with that coma juice.”

                “What, three glasses wasn’t enough?”

                “I didn’t drink any before, you prawn. I was trying to get a rise out of you because you upset me.”

                Already prepared with some sort of retort, he falters upon hearing these words. “Did I? I… I’m sorry. That wasn’t my intention. I thought you’d be alright.”

                He seems so earnest, so distraught, that the fight rushes out of Donna almost entirely. She nods slowly and murmurs, “It’s alright. Just maybe invite me along next time.”

                “Yes, ma’am.” After a moment’s pause, he adds, “Oh, and Donna, about Caesar kissing your hand…”

                She balks at the prospect of such a discussion, and begins to vehemently shake her head. “Don’t worry, Doctor. I know. Let’s go dance, yeah?”

                The Doctor hesitates. “Okay,” he says at last, taking her waiting hand and leading her out onto the floor.


End file.
